For five decades, the nuclear powered aircraft carrier Enterprise plowed the seven seas to protect the freedoms of American citizens and guarantee freedom of the seas for all. From the Cuban missile crisis through its participation in conflicts arising out of the 9/11 attacks, “The Big ‘E’” was the tip of the spear of American foreign policy.

Today, in front of 12,000 former crew, their families, and friends, the United States Navy formerly retired Enterprise from active service.

The 1,123-foot (342-metres) long Enterprise was commissioned in 1961 with eight nuclear reactors on board, and the next year was deployed to participate in a blockade of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Since then, it has played a role in a number of naval missions, including deployments to Vietnam and to the Middle East as part of the U.S. response to the September 11, 2001, attacks. It returned from its final deployment about a month ago, said Navy spokesman Mike Maus.

Nicknamed the “Big E,” the Enterprise was the oldest active duty ship in the U.S. Naval fleet, according to the military, and was the eighth U.S. military ship to bear the name Enterprise.

The roughly 12,000 people who participated in the ceremony for the USS Enterprise include many former crew members and their friends, Maus said. The ceremony was held in Virginia at Naval Station Norfolk.

The Enterprise will stay at Naval Station Norfolk for several months and then will move to a shipyard in nearby Newport News, Virginia, where its nuclear fuel will be removed from the vessel, Maus said.

After that, the ship will be towed to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Washington state, where its nuclear reactors will be dismantled and the Enterprise will be scrapped, Maus said.

There are no plans to turn the Enterprise into a museum, as has been done with other historic warships.

The Navy said in a statement that inactivation and defueling of the Enterprise will have “major impacts on the structure of the ship” and that it would be too costly to “return the ship to a condition that would support it becoming a museum.”

Even today, Enterprise was an impressive weapon of war. Its 8 nuclear reactors powered the ship to speeds up to 34 knots. It carried a crew of 5,000 seamen and airmen and up to 90 aircraft. It was the longest naval vessel in the world in its time, displacing nearly 95,000 tons — a truly fearsome manifestation of American power.
Enterprise was the second oldest commissioned warship in the US Navy, superseded only by the three masted frigate Constitution. She and her crew have much to be proud having served this nation with honor and courage for so long.

26 Comments, 14 Threads

My apologies to the SecNav, with the caveat of he had only himself to blame. USS MURTHA and GIFFORDS indeed. And we have no reason not to believe further glorification of things Democrat in the future. Nevertheless, apologies.

Now if we could just get a USS John Adams. After all, the Founding generation thought him only behind Washington and Franklin, which is why he got sent to France during the criticalyears of the Revolution, when French support neant all–we sent out top guys–and was why he was elected to be the first Vice President and first President to repace Washington. Because he was the colossus of independence, and everyone knew it.

Of course, if you don’t beleve in American Exceptionalism, I guess I could understand why Independence woud be viewed as a mistake…

Having served on the Big E as a Marine, I can say with authority that her top speed was in excess of thirty-SIX knots. Quite a bit in excess, by the way. When the captain kicked her in the keister she could take off and leave her escort ships in her wake. Saw it more than once in combat maneuvers training. Ships such as destroyers, frigates and cruisers could not keep up, nor even come close. To catch her you’d need an aircraft, missile or torpedo as no surface craft over a few dozen tons displacement (other than another CVN) could keep up. Even the new Aegis destroyers would be very hard put to keep up, if at all. CVNs are very fast, especially considering their displacement. Ask a former helmsman of the Big E if she could exceed 36 knots and see what they say.

Let us henceforth resolve, that all ships of the US Navy shall not be named by any man or women, lest they be dead for at least 100 years. Let us also resolve that Ships of the US Navy shall be henceforth be named only for significant battles, capital cities, counties, states and those who have been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Let us also resolve that there will always be one ship in the Navy known by the name “Enterprise”.

And historic naval vessels, Constellation, Wasp, Hornet, Enterprise, Independence, Essex. The first carriers were all named after historic warships, to include a few battles, Concord, Saratoga, Lexington. The first Constellation was Constitution’s sister ship. Wasp and Hornet were Revolutionary War sister ships. I agree with your thought- the first capital ships named for individuals were the FDR and then the Forrestal. You can see the reasoning in the FDR, the Forrestal was named for a Secretary of Defense or the Navy who died while she was under construction. Nice gesture to the family, but now we have the Murtha and will soon get the Clinton. Should be more about history and national pride than gestures to current politicians. The hundred year waiting period, at least fifty, would ensure that we’re proud of the guy as a country- perhaps more importantly, that those who serve on her can take pride in her namesake.

The Enterprise has eight nuclear reactors because when it was built the technology for scaling up naval nuclear reactors wasn’t well developed, and so they used eight submarine-size reactors, each with its own two steam generators, not all of which were built by the same manufacturer. It is as if some guy decided to build his own big truck and used six Vega motors and two Pinto motors to power it.

My hat is off to the US Navy men and officers – and shipyard workers – who kept that plumber’s nightmare operational for such a long career.

I did not keep up with the modifications made to the Enterprise. I was not in surface nukes and I have been on shore for 30 years now…

The basic plant of the Enterprise was built by Westinghouse. The prototype was in Idaho Fals Idaho (ARCO nuclear site) and was the A1W design. It was several times more powerful than the first generation submarine plant (S1W).

Frankly, even though the plant arrangement was complicated, the modularity of the design was one of the reasons that the ship was so versatile. When conducting flight ops, half of the plants provided steam for the cats, and the other half propulsion. When she needed to raise her skirts and run, all of the cores were steaming the main engines. Another advantage, aside from refueling, was that, because the propuslsion power plants were distributed, she could, in theory, take battle damage that would put a conventional ship dead in the water and keep fighting. In practice, I would not want to be in the engine spaces if battle damage had breached primary containment; that would have been pretty horrible.

The concept has been retained, by the way. The Nimitz class has two reactors, one for the cats and one for the screws, each of wich could power NYC and have some left over.

Still, they make awfully big targets, which is what we in the submarine sevice called them. Targets.

Actually, they should really name a new carrier “Obama”.
Can’t you just see the headlines over the next 30-40 years: planes from “The USS Obama” bombed –Insert rathole sandpit here– terrorist headquarters. World and UN outraged.

I am starting to feel my age when I realize as a Newport News native that I recall when her keel was laid and I watched her construction. My high school was only several blocks distance from her dry dock.

You were privileged to have witnessed history then. You’re very lucky.

I love the story about the famed Enterprise of WWII fame, and what the Japanese sailors called her – because they kept believing her sunk, but she kept reappearing in battle to their dismay and detriment.

“That F***ing Ship.”

Different time, different people. But damn we could build solid stuff back then. Solid people too.

Given the deplorable state of the economy, a real jobs program would be to restore The Big E as a museum. The argument that it would be too expensive is laughable when one considers the half billion plus dollars wasted on Solyndra. The thirty billion dollars lost on so-called green energy companies would have built another half dozen Enterprises with enough left over to convert this one to a museum that would be a teaching tool for generations.

Every ship that I ever served aboard, save one, has been stricken, scrapped or used for target practice and sunk.

The Navy is on lean times, and there is no extra fat to waste on enshrining 90 thousand tons of scrap metal as a tourist attraction. As attached as sailors may have been to these old ships when they were in service, once they are stricken from the active list, they become just another profitles problem to deal with.

Let her go. She’s taught all the lessons needed to the young men an women who now man her descendants, the Nimits class super carriers.